By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 24, 2018 While doing some last minute Christmas shopping with my brother James today in the Pineville subdivision of Charlotte, North Carolina, we passed a Sears store that was one of 300 that was closed in 2018. We discussed at length the positive impact Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) played in improving the lives of millions of blacks in America during the 20th Century. Rosenwald was an owner, President and Chairman of the Board of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Rosenwald was also a philanthropist who was deeply concerned about the poor state of African-American education, especially in the racially segregated Southern states, where their schools were perpetually underfunded. In 1912, Tuskegee Institute President Booker T. Washington asked Rosenwald to serve on the school’s board of trustees, a position he held until his death. Rosenwald and his wealthy industrialist friends in the North endowed Tuskegee handsomely so that Washington could spend less time fundraising and more time managing the school. Later in 1912, Rosenwald provided funds to Tuskegee Institute for a pilot program to build six new small schools in rural Alabama. They were designed, constructed and opened between 1913 and 1914. Tuskegee architects and staff oversaw the construction projects. This construction model proved extremely successful. Booker T. Washington died in 1915. In 1017, Rosenwald established the Rosenwald Fund, which primarily served African-American students in rural areas throughout the South. The Fund "sunset" in 1948. The school building program was one of the Fund’s largest programs. Using the architectural model plans developed at Tuskegee Institute, the Rosenwald Fund spent over $4 million to help build 4,977 schools, 217 teachers' homes, and 163 shop buildings in 883 counties in 15 states, from Maryland to Texas. The Rosenwald Fund made matching grants that required community support, cooperation from all-white school boards, and local fundraising. Black communities raised more than $4.7 million to aid in the construction of these schools, which became known as “Rosenwald Schools.” By his death in 1932, the Rosenwald schools could accommodate one third of all African-American children in Southern U.S. schools. These schools contributed greatly to the emergence of a black middle class in America during the 1940 and 50s. In addition to funding schools for blacks, the Rosenwald Fund also made fellowship grants directly to African-American artists, writers, researchers and intellectuals between 1928 and 1948. The late civil rights leader Julian Bond, whose father received a Rosenwald fellowship, called the list of grantees a "Who's Who of black America in the 1930s and 1940s." Hundreds of grants were disbursed to artists, writers and other cultural figures, many of whom became prominent or already were, including photographer Gordon Parks Jr., graphic artist Elizabeth Catlett, poet Claude McKay, pioneering surgeon Dr. Charles Drew, sculptor Augusta Savage, anthropologist and dancer Katherine Dunham, singer Marian Anderson, writers Ralph Ellison, W.E.B. Du Bois and James Weldon Johnson, psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark, dermatologist Theodore K. Lawless, and poets Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou and Rita Dove. Misplaced Loyalties As James and I talked, we could not understand why African-American communities in the U.S. would knowingly allow Sears to struggle as a retailer. While African Americans make up just 14% of the U.S. population, we are responsible for some $1.2 trillion in purchases annually, according to a 2018 report from Nielsen on the current buying power of consumers of color. In many categories, the percentage of black spending is far greater than our percentage of the general population. Yet, African-Americans prop up brand names that have virtually no track record of engaging in philanthropic giving to black communities. Unlike Rosenwald and Sears, brands like Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vitton, Versace, Christian Dior, Michael Kors, Nieman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Bloomingdales, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, and many other high-end retailers show no respect for black spending. These brands would struggle in the retail marketplace without the one-way loyalty African-American customers gratuitously confer upon them. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. Why do we continue to spend our hard-earned dollars propping up luxury retailers that do not support our communities? How did we become lost in the promise land? Why do we reward those who openly neglect our communities? Why do we fail those who have a demonstrated track record of lifting us up? PHOTO: A closed Sears store.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 18, 2018 Dr. Michelle Casario is a brilliant woman with an impressive academic record on the European economy and globalization. She also shared a close personal relationship with Mr. Charles Barkley, a financial backer in my international business endeavors. I first met Dr. Casario on the night of March 5, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia, while having dinner with her and Charles Barkley. Montal Morton, a business associate who served as a liaison between Masada Resource Group, LLC, and several of my Watkins Pencor, LLC, economic participants, was also present. Prior to the dinner, Morton briefed me on who Dr. Casario was and her importance in Charles Barkley’s life. Dr. Casario is a distinguished assistant professor of economics and Co-Faculty Director for The Elenore and Robert F. Moran Sr. Center for Global Leadership at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She received a bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown College, a master’s degree from Northeastern University, and a PhD from Northwestern University. Dr. Casario has published articles (with Kamran Dadkhah) titled, "An Evaluation of Progress Towards Economic and Monetary Union Using Fuzzy Analysis," Journal of Policy Modeling, 20(6), 1999; in her own name titled, "Bilateral Trade Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement," Contemporary Economic Policy, 14, 1996; (with Kamran Dadkhah) titled, "The Impact of European Integration on International Trade with the United States: A VAR Approach," Applied Economics, 1995; and in her own name titled, "European Integration: Impact on International Trade with the United States," Atlantic Economic Journal, 2(2), 1993. She specializes in import quotas, international economics, international trade, and globalization. Aside from Dr. Casario’s close relationship with Barkley, I was very interested in learning as much as I could about the European economy from her since most of my Masada-related business plans were Euro-centric. Following my dinner with Dr. Casario and Barkley, I asked her to email me a copy of all four of the published articles referenced above. She sent those articles and two other impressive and helpful articles, as well. On March 10, 2008, I sent Dr. Casario and Barkley the following email: “Thanks for sending me your articles. I will read them on my trip to L.A. this week. I am trying to get as much information as I can on labor, productivity, market drivers and economic trends in European countries. My company, Masada Resource Group, LLC, (www.masada.com) develops municipal solid waste-to-ethanol facilities around the world. Europe has an increasing market demand for our CES OxyNol waste-to-ethanol technology. During the past decade, Controlled Environmental Systems Corp., Masada's technology affiliate, filed patent applications to secure international patent protection with the Patent Cooperation Treaty and African Organization of Intellectual Property countries, nominating the U.S. Patent Office/U.S. Receiving office as the designated searching authority. Patent protection was also filed in other Paris and Non-Paris Convention Member countries. These applications resulted in the acquisition of international patents in Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eurasia, Europe, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,Romania, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Masada renews its international patents on a market-by-market basis, based upon Masada's global deployment plans, an in-depth economic analysis of each country's market potential at renewal time, and the availability of local waste management partnerships. Masada has been a member of the Montreux (Switzerland) Energy Roundtable (www.montreuxenergy.com) since 2001. We use the Roundtable network of energy trading and off-take companies as our primary marketplace for marketing energy assets. Montreux Energy Roundtable founder and president Richard McKean is a former Masada OxyNol board member.” On March 12, 2008, Dr. Casario sent the following response to my email. “Thank you for the link to your company's website.  I must admit that prior to meeting you last week, I had no  knowledge about the conversion of solid waste to ethanol but I found  the whole conversation rather stimulating.  From an environmental standpoint, this process is tremendously appealing, not to mention the economic benefits…  After reading the information on your website regarding the waste-to-ethanol technology I could see how superior this process was compared to existing technologies that are so heavily dependent on volatile corn prices.  I find this whole issue very interesting - it is easy to see why you have such passion and enthusiasm for what you do. With respect to your interest in labor productivity and economic trends in Europe, I have a couple of thoughts to share.  Labor productivity growth has been decreasing throughout the Eurozone (15 countries that have adopted the Euro) but has been increasing in many of the countries that have recently joined the EU (but are not yet participating in the Euro).  The data shows a pretty significant disparity of 1.4% productivity growth for the 15 members of the Eurozone in 2007 compared to 4.0% productivity growth for the new members.  I think that productivity levels are increasing among the new member states for two reasons:  First, many of the new member states are realizing the benefits of market reform and the improved allocation of productive resources.  Secondly, the technology transfer from the advanced industrialized Western European countries to the emerging Central and Eastern European countries is increasing their productivity.  It is sort of like a convergence hypothesis where emerging or developing economies can 'catch up' to more advanced economies through greater productivity growth rates (as opposed to productivity levels) simply because it is easier to adopt or imitate existing technologies rather than expend resources to develop new ones… Another trend I find quite interesting in the EU right now is the decline in unemployment rates EU wide.  The EU has historically had much higher unemployment rates than the US.  This is due in large part to the structural and institutional labor market rigidities present throughout Europe - it is almost impossible to fire unproductive workers in Europe.  Last month, EU unemployment hit a record low of 7.1% (Eurostat has kept EU wide statistics since 1993).  So I am thinking that employment levels may have reached their peak in Europe and as such labor productivity may start to increase in the Eurozone.  This is simply a function of how labor productivity is defined in that if employment growth accelerates beyond output growth rates, then productivity falls.  Since the converse is true, a leveling of employment would increase productivity if increased demand is met with expanding output.  This would also alleviate some of the upward pressure on wages common in a tighter labor market, thereby lowering production costs…”. After this email exchange of vital European economic and productivity information, the global economy unexpectedly collapsed. Scores of Masada’s competitors in the U.S. went out of business. Masada survived the Recession with no taxpayer “bailout” from the federal government. The key to company’s survival was its shift from a U.S. focus to an international market development strategy that commenced in November 2007 after I became CEO of Masada. Masada’s executive team grew the company from one domestic project in upstate New York in 2007 to over 40 international in 2016. Along the way, Masada had to: (a) survive the Great Recession of 2008, which lasted through 2010, (b) retreat from Sierra Leone during the outbreak of Ebola epidemic in the country in 2014, (c) abandon market development activities in Egypt after the 2013 overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, (d) halt market development activities in the Ukraine after Russian-backed rebels shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight over the eastern part of the country on July 17, 2014, (e) escape riots in Senegal over President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third-term, and (f) abandon market development activities in Turkey after an attempted a coup d'état against state against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.  Despite these challenges, the company achieved a remarkable growth in its market penetration in record time. Masada’s track-record for international expansion and recognition as a global industry leader earned the company the Governor’s 2015 Trade Excellence Award, among other awards. Furthermore, Goldman Sachs qualified me as a bidder for the St. Louis Rams NFL team from July 2009 to August 2010 based upon my equity interests in Masada’s constellation of assets. In summary, Charles Barkley had a brilliant, leading world expert at his fingertips with impressive credentials on the European economy and globalization, who also just happened to share a close personal relationship with him. Dr. Casario’s brilliance contributed greatly to Masada’s international growth and to Charles Barkley’s financial backing of Masada. PHOTO: Dr. Michelle Casario is a brilliant Villanova University professor of economics and close personal friend of Charles Barkley. Her body of professional work was instrumental in Masada's international growth and in Barkley's financial backing of the company.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 10, 2018 On many occasions, men and women who do not don a military uniform serve America’s national interests abroad. It is often dangerous work, but important to a grateful nation. Blocking Iranian Access to Nuclear Fuels On March 27, 2012, Nabirm Global, LLC, a Birmingham, Alabama and Windhoek, Namibia-based energy services company, was awarded a uranium concession by Epangelo Mining Company (Pty) Ltd. Epangelo is the Republic of Namibia’s national mining company. The concession covered License Numbers 4676 and 4677 in the Erongo Region of Namibia. Nuclear fuels had been declared a “strategic mineral resource” by the Namibian government. Subsequent to this declaration, the government lifted a national moratorium on uranium concessions for nuclear fuels so that Nabirm could compete for this concession against Iran’s state-owned Iranian Foreign Investment Company and others. Nabirm, which was founded in 2011, worked closely with the U.S. State Department to make sure that an American-owned company would have the best chance of winning this uranium concession and keeping this strategic asset out of Iranian hands. At the time, the Iranians were desperately trying to develop their nuclear weapons program. Nabirm briefed the State Department on the company’s progress every step of the way. Nabirm also ramped up its corporate social responsibility activities to become competitive with the Iranians in this regard. In the end, Nabirm blocked Iran’s access to the uranium concessions in Namibia and Washington was very happy about it. Diamond Trafficking Activity in Sierra Leone In 2012, Masada Resource Group, LLC, a Birmingham, Alabama-based waste-to-energy company, worked with U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions and the U.S. State Department to address the spread of Iranian influence in Africa. While departing Freetown, Sierra Leone on February 24, 2012, Masada executives witnessed the departure of an Iranian diplomatic mission at the airport and watched as the entire group boarded an Islamic Republic of Iran jumbo jetliner, together with what "insiders" believe were several heavily guarded duffle bags of diamonds. To the outside world, Sierra Leone may be poor when judged by the conditions we see on the surface. However, Sierra Leone is very rich in diamonds and other natural resources. In 2006, the U.S. built a new $300 million embassy compound in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This compound attests to Sierra Leone's strategic importance to America’s national interests in West Africa, particularly as the Middle East becomes increasing hostile to U.S. interests. The Iranians appeared to be offering much needed humanitarian assistance to the national government of Sierra Leone in exchange for access to the country’s mined diamonds. After the U.S. blocked Iran from participating in the SWIFT system for international banking transactions, diamonds became Iran’s currency of choice for transacting global commerce. While it was too late to stop the February 24, 2012 shipment of diamonds out of the country, we were able to alert the appropriate U.S. officials in the hopes of mitigating future occurrences of such diamond trafficking. Teaming With Evergreen International Aviation From 2006 to 2008, Masada collaborated with Evergreen International Aviation in a deal to buy the cargo airline from Delford Smith, the company’s founder and owner. At the time, Evergreen was a civilian contractor with several national intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. As part of the due diligence process, Masada executives and representatives met with the liaisons from the government intelligence agencies involved with Evergreen. When requested, Evergreen vetted Masada’s potential business partners in foreign countries. This collaboration was extremely helpful to Masada and America’s national security interests. Given the nature and locations of its business activities, Masada has been uniquely situated to collect human intelligence on a variety of subjects of importance to America. This intelligence has served our national interests and continues to do so today. PHOTO: Iran’s influence in Africa is spreading while America’s is diminishing.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 8, 2018 Since the October 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia has been in the news a lot. Many people think Saudis are ruthless people who engage in brutality as a course of conduct. The ones who murdered Khashoggi are most certainly cold-blooded killers. However, the Saudi business community is filled with excellent companies and very decent people. The same is true for the nation as a whole. On November 8, 2012, Masada Resource Group, LLC, formed a Strategic Alliance Agreement in Saudi Arabia with His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Meshaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud ("HRH"), CEO of the Riyadh-based Al Shoula Group, LLC. The Al Shoula Group develops multi-billion infrastructure projects in Spain, Saudi Arabia and throughout the Persian Gulf region. Masada is a Birmingham, Alabama-based waste-to-energy technology company. Over the past decade, Masada has formed 19 partnerships that cover market and project development activities in 47 international markets. Saudi Arabia is one of these markets. The Masada-HRS Agreement was properly registered with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department on February 13, 2013, Reg. No.: 13017963-1. The Authentication Certificate for the Agreement bears Secretary of State John Kerry’s signature. This step is a pre-requisite for conducting business within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From day one of Masada’s introduction to the Middle Eastern markets, the company viewed the execution of its Agreement with HRH as vital to its Middle Eastern market deployment strategy. Masada spent 14 months and numerous trips to Saudi Arabia developing and securing the business relationship with HRH. On February 28, 2013, Masada submitted the joint venture’s first proposal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to develop a commercial-scale waste-to-energy facility in Mecca – the Holy City. London-based Daniel Stewart & Company, Plc, agreed to arrange financing for the $300 million project. Throughout the RFP process, HRH and his staff treated Masada with the utmost respect and dignity. No one in Saudi Arabia (or any other foreign country where Masada conducts business) asked for or received a bribe for representing Masada. In fact, the only place where I have been asked for bribes was in the City of Detroit in 2008. The persons requesting the bribes were pension board trustees. Their requests were rejected on the spot. As a U.S.-based company, Masada is required to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) in all international markets. The FCPA generally prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. Masada has operated in international markets for many years and has never been cited for a FCPA violation. In contrast to Masada, Walmart, Inc., has been caught up in one of the biggest FCPA investigations of a U.S. company in history. For the past six years, U.S. authorities have investigated whether Walmart bribed government officials in countries including Mexico, India and China over the course of a decade to fast-track store openings. Last year, Walmart set aside nearly $300 million for a possible resolution with the U.S. government over international bribery allegations. To date, Walmart has not resolved its FCPA issues with the Department of Justice or Securities and Exchange Commission. While Jamal Khashoggi’s gruesome murder must be condemned in the strongest terms, it does not reflect the high moral values and ethical actions of Saudi Arabia’s mainstream business community. Those responsible for Khashoggi’s murder must be held accountable for their conduct, without exception. PHOTO: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 6, 2018 Yesterday was “Senior Signing Day” at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business. This event is where graduating seniors in the Business School celebrate their commitment to work for a firm or company after graduation or the completion of an internship, or to pursue post-graduate higher education opportunities. Claudia Rose Watkins celebrated her commitment to attend The London School of Economics (“LSE”) and pursue her MBA in Social Entrepreneurship in the fall of 2019. Claudia will graduate from The University of Alabama on December 15, 2018 with an undergraduate degree in Marketing and Economics and a specialization and certification in global business. Last summer, Claudia completed a course of study in business and finance at LSE. During the summer of 2017, Claudia studied economics at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Claudia is Euro-centric and thrives in a multicultural environment. Last spring, Claudia was the team leader for a group of international students who competed against 1,031 other cross-cultural teams worldwide in creating a market entry strategy for a firm in Germany.  The 1,032 teams in the competition were comprised of 4,972 students from 152 universities in 37 countries on 6 continents. Claudia’s team won “The 2018-1 X-Culture Best Team” award. Because Claudia was the team leader, she has been invited to speak at the 2019 X-Culture Global Symposium in Canada. Claudia also received a glowing recommendation letter speaking to her ability to manage an award-winning cross-cultural team.  She will be interviewed on live TV next year as part of the 2019 X-Cultural Global Symposium program. Claudia is the second Watkins family member who has studied abroad.  My grandson Levi Seth Watkins, who was the Second Place Winner in November 2017 at the Jiansu Cup Chinese Speech Contest at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, won a full scholarship for four-week course of study last summer at Nanjing Forestry University in Jiansu Province, China.  Seth, who translates many of my international business documents that are written in Mandarin, has been speaking and writing Mandarin for several years.  Seth is the second son of Dustin Watkins and Quan Watkins. Educational excellence is the key to success, especially in international business. PHOTO: Claudia Rose Watkins is London-bound after graduating from The University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business next week. PHOTO: The Graduate.

By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on December 2, 2018 The courageous Limestone County, Alabama Circuit Court judge who set aside a guilty verdict in one of the infamous “Scottsboro Boys” trials will be posthumously honored with a post office bearing his name. It is a fitting tribute to the bravest state court judge to ever serve on the judicial bench in Alabama. No state court judge in Alabama, living or dead, has matched Judge Horton’s courage and dedication to fairness. Last Thursday, a bill sponsored by Republican Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5) bill to designate the United States Postal Service Office located at 1110 West Market Street in Athens, Alabama as the “Judge James E. Horton, Jr. Post Office Building” passed the United States House of Representatives by voice vote. The legislation has clear bipartisan momentum, with every other member of Alabama’s House Delegation cosponsoring the bill. The bill must still pass the United States Senate, which is expected to occur soon. In a November 29, 2019 press release, Congressman Brooks said, “Judge James Edwin Horton was born in Limestone County, Alabama on January 4, 1878. Despite having no formal education until he was eight or nine, Judge Horton was accepted to Vanderbilt University's medical studies program and, later, to Cumberland University where he earned his bachelor and law degrees. Judge Horton served in the Alabama State Legislature until he took a Limestone County, Alabama chancery court position. Thereafter, he was elected circuit court judge for Alabama’s Eighth Judicial Circuit. After reelection to a second term, Judge Horton was appointed to preside over the retrials of the highly controversial and nationally renowned ‘Scottsboro Boys’ cases. By way of background, the ‘Scottsboro Boys’ cases involved nine African Americans, ages 13 to 20, accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931 as it traveled through Scottsboro and Jackson County, Alabama. In the first trials, eight of nine defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death, a verdict later reversed by the United States Supreme Court. After a guilty verdict and death sentence during the second set of Scottsboro Boys trials, Judge Horton bravely issued an order setting aside the jury’s guilty verdict against Haywood Patterson and ordered a new trial. In 2013, the Scottsboro Boys were formally pardoned under Alabama law. For his bravery in the face of extreme racial prejudice and for his willingness to support justice that risked and ended his judicial career, Judge Horton deserves the posthumous honor of having the Athens, Alabama Post Office named for him, and it is appropriate that his legacy be held up as a guide for future generations.” Judge Horton presided over the first retrial in Haywood Patterson’s case in 1933. In discussing the case during jury selection, Judge Horton said: “So far as the law is concerned, it knows neither native nor alien, Jew nor Gentile, black nor white. This case is no different from any other. We have only to do our duty without fear or favor.” The jury disregarded Horton’s instruction and found Patterson guilty of rape. Horton set aside the jury’s guilty verdict because he did not believe the evidence supported it. Horton’s belief was confirmed in a private meeting with Dr. Marvin Lynch, the young white doctor who examined the two girls and determined that they had not been raped, as claimed. Dr. Lynch refused to corroborate the state prosecutor’s theory of the case and was excused by the prosecutor from having to testify. Dr. Lynch told Judge Horton that the girls were lying and that no rape had occurred. This disclosure, along with a mountain of other exonerating evidence, convinced Judge Horton to set aside the jury’s guilty verdict. Immediately after setting aside the verdict, Judge Horton was removed from the case by the Alabama Supreme Court. He was heavily criticized around the State for his ruling, but he stood his ground and did not back away from his decision. This act of bravery resulted in Judge Horton’s defeat for re-election in 1934 and the public scorn of his family for decades. After growing threats to his life by white supremacists, Horton and his family were forced to flee from town. He left politics and spent the rest of his days working on his farm and running a small private practice. Judge Horton never served in public office again. When addressing the lynch mob mentality that surrounded the case and the falsely accused defendants, Judge Horton explained that “the man who engages in anything that would cause the death of any of the prisoners is a murderer; he is not only a murderer but a cowardly murderer.” “I absolutely have no patience with mob spirit. … Your very civilization depends upon the carrying out of your laws in an orderly manner,” said Horton. The judge firmly believed that everyone should fairly receive due process, regardless of race or ethnicity. Judge Horton died on March 28, 1973, at the age of 95. In 1974, I began my legal representation of Clarence Norris, the last known surviving Scottsboro Boy at the time. In 1976, Norris received the first-ever full and unconditional pardon granted by the State of Alabama to a former death row inmate based upon a showing of “innocence”. Forty-three years after Judge Horton set aside Haywood Patterson’s guilty verdict, the State finally acknowledged that no rape had ever occurred in the Scottsboro Boys case. To this day, Judge James E. Horton’s dedication to fairness and justice in Alabama’s state court judicial system is unrivaled. The closest modern-day state court jurist in Judge Horton’s class of honorable, courageous and duty-bound judges is Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tracie Todd. In 2016, Judge Todd declared Alabama’s sentencing scheme in death penalty cases unconstitutional and is now experiencing the same harsh treatment from the State’s appellate judges and prosecutors. Fortunately, she was re-elected to a second term in office this year. Kudos to Congressman Mo Brooks for sponsoring the legislation to honor Judge James E. Horton. This national honor was long overdue. PHOTO: Limestone County, Alabama Circuit Judge James E. Horton had courage when it counted the most. No state court judge in Alabama, living or dead, has matched Judge Horton’s courage and dedication to fairness in the judicial system. The U.S. Congress has finally honored Judge Horton for his role in providing justice in the case of "Scottsboro Boy" Haywood Patterson.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on November 30, 2018 Yesterday’s indictment of my son and me on federal fraud charges provides an excellent opportunity to educate the public on how to win a criminal case. My experiences as a former prosecutor and defense attorney have been invaluable in teaching me the skills necessary to win criminal cases. While winning the case is important, it is not the most important goal. The primary goal is to win a criminal case in a way that allows the trial judge to award the defendant reasonable attorneys' fees after he is tried and acquitted. This effort starts long before an indictment has been issued. Developing Hyde Amendment Evidence In a federal criminal case like mine, the Hyde Amendment (Pub. L. 105-119, § 617, Nov. 26, 1997, 111 Stat. 2519, codified as a note following 18 U.S.C. § 3006A), allows a federal court to assess attorneys’ fees and costs against the Government if “the court finds that the position of the United States was 'vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith’.” In my case, we sent a Hyde Amendment notice to the Government on November 28, 2018. The notice warned that criminal charges in my case could only come from “vexatious, frivolous, or bad faith conduct” on the part of the Government. Upon receiving notice in February 2018 that I was the designated “target” in a federal criminal probe in Birmingham, I provided the Government with a March 14, 2018 memorandum that presented the true factual context for the financial transactions that form the basis for the charges now specified in the November 29, 2018 indictment. I also voluntarily subjected myself to grand jury appearances in April and September and answered every question asked without invoking my 5th Amendment rights. Finally, I produced over 4 terabytes of business records that supported the factual presentation outlined in the pre-indictment memorandum. I have only one version of the truth in this case and it has been tested in multiple venues, including: (a) a private "securities fraud" lawsuit in 2013 in New Jersey, which the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed with prejudice four years later, (b) a New Jersey federal grand jury proceeding in 2015 that was led by the Chief of the Economic Crimes Division, which was closed in 2016 with no criminal charges filed, and (c) a 2016 lawsuit that was filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which the SEC requested in July 2018 that the trial judge dismiss $4 million of its $6 million in “securities fraud” claims. Yesterday’s indictment represents the fourth test of the so-called “fraud” claims in five years. My record of success in defending against the same "fraud" charges in different forums affords me a unique opportunity to approach the pending criminal case in a way that qualifies for a Hyde Amendment judicial finding after my acquittal. This is why the Government’s motivation in bringing the charges matters a lot. The personal and political baggage of the investigators matters, as well. This is particularly true in a case like mine where case agents actually bragged about how they were going to taking me down. Exculpatory Evidence Matters in “Fraud” Cases Fortunately, the corporate governance documents and investment agreements detail the nature, scope, and context of every financial transaction at issue in this case. These documents and agreements define the business relationships and are easy to understand. I either abided by the terms of the business agreements signed by the parties, or I did not. It is important to remember that the Government’s indictment is nothing more than a prosecutor’s “spin” on the case. Grand jurors do not draft indictments; prosecutors do. The Government’s own press release in my case says: “The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” One of the keys to determining whether the Government acts in good faith while pursuing criminal charges against a defendant is whether prosecutors willingly present all pertinent evidence to grand jurors, whether favorable or unfavorable to the Government’s position. In my case, it did not do so. When prosecutors consistently withhold exculpatory evidence from grand jurors, there is a problem with fundamental fairness in the criminal justice system. For example, prosecutors did not disclose to the grand jury that I worked for my companies and their stakeholders full-time for 12 years without taking any of the salary the “fraud” victims authorized for my CEO position. Likewise, prosecutors did not disclose that my direct investment in these companies exceeded the aggregate investment of all other stakeholders combined. Furthermore, prosecutors did not advise grand jurors that every financial transaction that was characterized as an act of “fraud” was specifically authorized in binding corporate governance documents (that were written many years before I became CEO), all of which the stakeholders in question agreed in writing to honor. I disclosed all of these exculpatory facts to prosecutors last March. Instead, the Government presented carefully scripted witness testimony to the grand jury in a way that portrayed me as a "crook" who invested no money in my companies and who used stakeholder money for personal expenses. Of course, this portrayal is grossly misleading. Because of the enormous amount of time prosecutors spend with grand jurors in a tightly controlled environment, grand jurors typically give prosecutors “presumed” credibility and generally follow their lead. Grand jurors almost never question a prosecutor’s personal background or political animus. In today’s political environment where law enforcement organizations routinely launch criminal investigations against people they do not like, this area of inquiry is fertile ground for developing a Hyde Amendment record. A Speedy Trial After five years of closed-door federal agency investigations and two separate federal grand jury proceedings, I am looking forward to developing and introducing my Hyde Amendment evidence in this case. The Government’s conduct throughout my case is dripping with Hyde Amendment facts. I will also invoke my Speedy Trial Act rights at the appropriate time. We are ready for trial and have been ready for the past five years. The core facts in this case will not change no matter how well the Government coaches its witnesses or cherry-picks documents. We have finally made it to the point where prosecutors and defense counsel will enter into a gladiator arena where litigation skills, trial experience, defense strategies, and exculpatory evidence will rule the day. This is when, where, and how the Government’s “vexatious” conduct in my case will be exposed and stopped. Winning my criminal case matters, but how we win it matters the most. PHOTO: Former Congressman Henry J. Hyde (R-IL) authored and sponsored the 1997 Hyde Amendment.

By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on November 29, 2018 Out of the chaos of a tragic police shooting a week ago has emerged a leader we can trust and respect. His name is Derrick Murphy and he is a member of the Hoover City Council. Mr. Murphy, who is African American, is addressing the fatal shooting of Emantic “E.J.” Bradford, Jr., in a direct, transparent and responsible way. He is asking the right questions and providing the entire Greater Birmingham community with the confidence it needs that there will be no law enforcement cover-up in this wrongful death case. Hoover police have already admitted that Mr. Bradford, while armed on the night of the shooting, was not the man who fired shots in a crowded Galleria Mall on Thanksgiving night. The officer who shot Bradford obviously made a fatal mistake in the heat of the moment. The officer was attempting to save lives in an “active shooter” situation but ended up taking an innocent life instead. This police shooting is under investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, an organization whose own professional reputation was severely tarnished when former governor Robert Bentley turned it into a political machine to (a) protect his extra-marital affair with lover Rebekah Caldwell Mason and (b) punish those who exposed his clandestine love affair. It will take years before ALEA regains it reputation as an independent and objective law enforcement agency. Mr. Murphy comes to this tragedy with no political or personal baggage. He enjoys an excellent professional and political reputation. He is well educated and highly intelligent. Mr. Murphy is investigating the Bradford shooting and calming community fears at the same time. Mr. Murphy is obviously a problem solver, truth-teller, healer, and unifier. All of us should respect his efforts to find and report the whole truth in the Bradford police shooting case. As a former city councilman who investigated many police shootings and subsequent cover-ups of those shootings, I know it takes time to properly investigate a police shooting. Mr. Murphy is moving with all deliberate speed in doing his job in the Bradford case. He is thoughtful, deliberate, and respectful to the process in his investigatory actions. We should not rush Mr. Murphy in doing his job. It is always better in a police shooting case to get the facts straight before they are presented to the public. Public confidence depends upon getting the facts straight. All of us should step back for a moment and respect Derrick Murphy’s leadership in this case. We owe this much to Mr. Murphy and his colleagues in the City of Hoover's government. Finally, I am reasonably confident that there will be no cover-up in the Bradford police shooting case as long as Mr. Murphy continues to show strong leadership in this matter. This is not the face or track record of a man who has failed himself or his community in life. Please, let Derrick Murphy do his thing. PHOTO: Hoover City Council member Derrick Murphy has emerged as a leader in the crisis surrounding the Thanksgiving night fatal police shooting of Emantic "E.J." Bradford at the Galleria Mall in Hoover.

By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on November 29, 2018 A man suspected of Thanksgiving night's shooting at the Galleria Mall in Hoover, Alabama has been arrested. Erron Brown was arrested this morning by U.S. Marshals in Atlanta and brought back to Birmingham, Alabama. Brown is accused of seriously wounding an 18-year-old man and 12-year-old child during his shooting spree at the Mall. Hoover police officers were patrolling the Mall when they heard gunshots and rushed toward the “active shooter” scene in an attempt to save innocent lives. There, they encountered Emantic “E.J.” Bradford, Jr., who was armed. They mistakenly believed Mr. Bradford was the shooter. In the heat of the moment, one of the officers fatally shot Mr. Bradford. Meanwhile, Erron Brown fled the crime scene, along with other Mall patrons. Brown’s alleged actions that night set in motion a series of horrific events. First, his gunshots disrupted a festive holiday shopping tradition in a crowded mall. Second, they caused severe gunshot wounds to two people. Third, they caused fleeing patrons to injure themselves while escaping the danger. Lastly, Brown's gunshots caused a police officer to draw his/her gun and shoot Mr. Bradford in the mistaken belief that the officer was saving lives. This mistake cost Bradford his life. The officer may have fired the bullets that entered Mr. Bradford's body, but suspect Brown caused his death. If he is indeed the shooter, Erron Brown had to know that serious bodily injury or death could resulted from his gunshots that night. From a criminal justice standpoint, Brown, alone, is responsible for Emantic Bradford’s death. Newly elected Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr must charge Erron Brown with the first degree murder of Mr. Bradford, along with the litany of felony charges for every mall patron who was injured in the shooting and/or fleeing. While the City of Hoover may have some legal exposure in a civil lawsuit for the wrongful death of Mr. Bradford, the officer who shot him should not be charged with any crime. We should never, ever send the message as a law-abiding community that police officers who risk their lives by rushing into an “active shooter” scene to save innocent lives may face criminal charges if they mistakenly shoot the wrong person. Mistakes happen in chaotic situations where quick action is required to save lives. Police officers must make spur-of-the-moment, life or death decisions in extremely dangerous situations. Most of the time, these officers make the right judgments when they encounter shooting suspects. Unfortunately, this judgment was wrong in Mr. Bradford’s case. The man responsible for Mr. Bradford’s death is the shooter who started this tragic chain of events. He must be punished severely. Mr. Danny Carr, do your job. Prosecute this shooter for first degree murder. PHOTO: Erron Brown, the alleged Galleria Mall shooter has been arrested.

By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on November 28, 2018 Every day, police officers across America don the uniform, leave home for work, place their lives on the line for our safety, and pray that they make it back home to their families unharmed. It takes a special person to risk his/her life every day to serve and protect people they do not know. I am a firm supporter of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers when they act responsibly and fairly in the discharge of their official duties. On several occasions, I have had to expose the misconduct of police officers and other law enforcement officials who abused their authority. On Thanksgiving night, a City of Hoover, Alabama police officer shot and killed the wrong man in an “active shooter” situation at the Galleria Mall. The City’s explanation for this police shooting keeps changing. With each mutating version, the City loses credibility. A police officer rushing to an “active shooter” scene to save the lives of others has to make split-second decisions. Such an officer would probably lack a specific intent to kill an innocent but armed man on the scene who may have been trying to save lives, as well. The City of Hoover has a unique opportunity to present the straight facts in the tragic police shooting of Emantic “E.J.” Bradford, Jr., on Thanksgiving night. The City should tell the truth about what happened that night because the truth will eventually come out anyway. There is no need for the City to “spin” the truth in this situation. Mr. Bradford’s death is regrettable, but may be understandable. What is inexcusable is the ever-present temptation to cover-up the truth in a police shooting situation. I have seen this happen many times in my legal career. A cover-up is an intentional act and it only makes matters worse. My Experiences with Police Officers Have Been Diverse and Impactful My early experiences with police officers were not pleasant. As a 12-year-old boy in 1960, I watched a white Montgomery police officer verbally abuse my mother during a routine traffic stop in our all-black neighborhood. The officer threatened to kill my mom for simply asking basic questions about this traffic stop. During his tongue-lashing, the officer told my crying mother that the “MUN” (which stands for “municipal”) preceding the numbers on the license plate of his motorcycle stood for “Murder U Niggers”. The officer did not care that he was abusing my mother in front of her son. In 1974, I was the Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alabama who defended and protected the “guilty” verdict on appeal for former City of Talladega, Alabama Police Lt. Jimmy Hurst, a white officer who murdered Charles “Cooter” Mann with a shotgun blast to his face in a rage of jealousy over a romantic relationship with Hurst’s girlfriend. During the course of the murder investigation, it became evident that Talladega’s mayor, police chief, and other officers in the police department were engaging in a small-scale "Watergate Cover-up". After the cover-up was exposed, the mayor resigned, the chief of police was forced out of office, and one Hurst’s fellow officers was suspended and subsequently indicted as an accessory after the fact. From 1974 to 1985, my life was routinely threatened by white police officers because of my aggressive prosecution of landmark court cases that challenged excessive police violence against unarmed black citizens in cities across Alabama. The worst threats came during my handling of a wrongful death case against the Montgomery Police Department (“MPD”) involving the fatal shooting of Bernard Whitehurst. On December 2, 1975, Whitehurst was shot and killed by Montgomery police officer Donnie Foster. The MPD claimed that Whitehurst was a fleeing felon who fired shots at Foster while facing him in a crouched position in the backyard of an abandoned house.  My investigation revealed that Whitehurst was an innocent unarmed black man who had was actually shot in the back while attempting to climb over a fence. The pistol found beside Whitehurst’s body was a “throw down” gun that was “planted” by police after his death. Within minutes after the shooting, a voice on the police radio screamed, “We done shot the wrong nigger”. The Whitehurst case evolved into a national police scandal that the Washington Post called “Alabama’s Watergate” in an April 3, 1977, two-page feature story. The scandal resulted in the resignations of the city's mayor and police commissioner, the indictment of three police officers for perjury, and the firing or resignation of eight others. Thirty-eight years later, the City of Montgomery erected a plaque on the grounds of its police headquarters acknowledging, for the first time, the inappropriate use of deadly force in Whitehurst’s case and subsequent police cover-up of his wrongful death. In 1975, I represented Sidney Williams, a black corporal in the MPD who sought a promotion to the rank of sergeant. His promotion was blocked by the MPD’s intentional use of racially biased promotional tests. Every officer above the rank of corporal was white. Corporal Williams sued the MPD to stop its use of discriminatory promotional tests. We won the case and the exams were scrapped for the next 10 years. This landmark court victory cleared the way for a wave of deserving black officers to rise through the ranks of the MPD all the way up to the rank of police chief. Williams retired as a major in the MPD and later served as chairman of the Alabama Pardons and Parole Board until his retirement in 2007. In 1983, an out-of-state black family was mourning the death of their mother/grandmother on Todd Road in Montgomery when two white police officers mistook the Michigan and Ohio mourners' license plates as a gathering of out-of-state drug dealers. Unbelievably, these officers raided the funeral gathering on a no-knock basis and violence erupted in and around the home as the occupants “stood their ground”. The officers, who were believed to be home invaders, were shot and subdued during the ensuing melee inside the home. Eleven of the mourners were subsequently arrested and four of them were viciously beaten while in police custody.  My investigation into this matter as a Montgomery city councilman resulted in the reduction of felony criminal charges to misdemeanors in four of the cases and dropped altogether in the remaining eight cases. Defending Police Officers In 1982, I defended Lt. Sammy Plummer, a white police officer with the Uniontown, Alabama Police Department. Lt. Plummer was sued in a wrongful death case brought by the family of David White, a black suspect who died in a 1981 shootout with Plummer during an attempted arrest. Lt. Plummer was shot several times during the incident. After a hard-fought and emotionally charged trial, a mostly black Perry County jury cleared Plummer and the City of Uniontown of wrongdoing in David White’s death. Lt. Sammy Plummer’s case was the first time in Alabama history that a black civil rights attorney defended a white police officer who had used deadly force against a black suspect. My defense of Lt. Plummer subjected me to harsh criticism by some members of the local black community. I did not care because Lt. Plummer was a great person and fine police officer. From 1985-1998, I routinely defended Birmingham police officers while serving as special counsel to Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. During this period, I also worked closely with white and black police officers to solve a host of heart-wrenching violent crimes in Birmingham, including the 1994 execution-style murders of five innocent victims at the Changing Times Lounge. At the time, this massacre was the largest mass murder in Birmingham’s history. Good Versus Bad Police Officers During my five decades of very diverse and personal interactions with a multitude of white and black police officers in Alabama, I have learned that police officers fall into two distinct groups – good ones and bad ones. Police officers like Lt. Sammy Plummer, Major Sidney Williams, and the many black and white officers who helped to expose the Jimmy Ray Hurst, Bernard Whitehurst and Todd Road police cover-ups are the good ones. They acted to protect and serve the public interest on an unselfish basis. Police officers like Jimmy Ray Hurst, Donnie Foster and the ones who perpetuated the cover-ups in the Hurst, Whitehurst, and Todd Road cases fall into the category of bad officers. They represent less than one percentage of all law enforcement officers in America. Every profession has bad actors. Police departments are no exception. Likewise, any good police officer can make a bad mistake in an “active shooter” situation when running towards danger in a crowded mall on a Thanksgiving night. This may have happened in Mr. Bradford’s case. We just don't know. However, this question will never get answered in a credible way if the City of Hoover engages in a cover-up of the Bradford shooting. City of Hoover, please tell us the truth about what happened to Mr. Bradford. We can handle the truth. PHOTO: The Galleria Mall in Hoover, Alabama on Thanksgiving night of 2018.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on November 26, 2018 Dear Mr. Murphy, I was sad to learn of the fatal shooting of Mr. Emantic "E.J." Bradford by a Hoover, Alabama police officer at the Galleria Mall on Thanksgiving night. I understand that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating this tragic incident. I am writing to remind you that you have the power and authority as a Hoover City Council member to investigate this incident, as well. You can perform this task by forming a committee of one under the Mayor-Council Act that is applicable to the City of Hoover. You are uniquely qualified to conduct an independent investigation into the incident as a Hoover Council member. According to your website, you are a graduate of Holy Family High School and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where you received an undergraduate and masters degree in Civil Engineering. You are employed at an engineering firm in Birmingham. You were appointed to the Hoover School Board in 2011, and have served as President of the Hoover Board of Education. Also, you are a former member of the City of Hoover Board of Zoning Adjustment. In addition, you created an organization called the Hoover City Dad Brigade to get dads and father figures more involved in Hoover City Schools. Finally, you were elected to your first term to the Hoover City Council in August 2016. Policing the Police Comes With the Job Mr. Murphy, I am not asking you to do anymore than I did as a Council member. Policing the police comes with your job as a City Council member. On November 13, 1979, I was sworn-in to a four-year term as the youngest City Council member in the history of the City of Montgomery, Alabama. The next day, Frank Mitchell, a white Montgomery police officer, shot Love Mae Lawson in the face with his 357 Magnum pistol during his response to a domestic assistance call. Ms. Lawson, who was unarmed at the time, was critically wounded in the shooting. A week later, I launched an independent inquiry into this shooting. My investigation revealed that Mitchell had engaged in an excessive use of force. The Murder of Bernard Whitehurst The voters in my City Council district elected me as a Council member with 70% of the vote because I had aggressively challenged widespread police violence against Montgomery’s black residents, including the infamous 1975 shooting of an unarmed and innocent black man named Bernard Whitehurst. The police planted a pistol at the death scene to make it appear that Whitehurst was armed and had engaged in a shootout with the officer who murdered him. Within days of the shooting, Ms. Ida Mae Whitehurst, Bernard’s grieving mother, hired me to investigate his death. What I uncovered over the next sixteen months was startling and would rock the very foundation of the police department for years to come. During this period, the Whitehurst case grew into the largest police scandal in Alabama’s history. This scandal was headlined in the April 3, 1977, edition of the Washington Post as “Alabama’s Watergate”. More recently, this shooting was featured in a December 19, 2015, edition of the New York Daily News in an article titled, “Innocent Alabama man murdered by cops 40 years ago, police heard saying 'We done shot the wrong n-----'”. In the aftermath of the Whitehurst shooting, both James Robinson, Montgomery's mayor, and Colonel Ed Wright, its top cop, were forced to resign. Eight other police officers were either fired or had to resign because of their roles in the massive police cover-up of Whitehurst’s murder. Based upon what I have read to date, it appears that Hoover police shot and killed the wrong man in connection with the Galleria Mall incident. This is why you must conduct a separate and independent investigation of the incident. Lying in Wait for Frank Pinkerton On June 12, 1982, a Montgomery police officer shot and killed Frank Pinkston, an unarmed black burglary suspect, during an attempted burglary of a local drugstore. My investigation revealed that the police (a) had advance warning of the burglary from an informant; (b) were waiting for Pinkston inside and outside the drugstore; (c) shot Pinkston inside the store as he attempted to flee the scene; (d) refused to let paramedics administer medical assistance to Pinkston; and (e) waited for Pinkston to die. Unfortunately, Pinkston was another victim of a cold-blooded police murder. I presented my investigative report to the City Council. Violence Upon Funeral Mourners On the evening of February 28, 1983, out-of-state members of the Taylor family were mourning the death of Annie Bell Taylor, their beloved mother, grandmother, and family matriarch, in Madison Park, a small black community in Montgomery. Two white Montgomery police officers in plain clothes and an unmarked police car mistook the gathering of mourners as a gathering of drug dealers from other states based upon the many license plates from Michigan and Ohio. For no apparent reason, officers Les Brown and Eddie Spivey angrily confronted 21-year-old Christopher Taylor, one of Ms. Taylor’s grandsons, outside the house. Unaware of their status and frightened, Christopher ran from them. Without provocation, the officers shot Christopher as he was running toward the house. When a wounded and bleeding Christopher made it through the front door of the house and told family members what had just occurred, they were shocked, afraid, and very angry. Unbelievably, the officers took it upon themselves to raid the funeral gathering by entering the front door without knocking and without identifying themselves as police officers. The mourners believed they were under a violent home invasion by two white intruders. The men inside the Taylor home instinctively tried to protect their children, wives, and other family members from two strangers brandishing guns, while simultaneously nursing and protecting a wounded family member. The family "stood their ground" and called for police help once they subdued the home invaders. When responding police officers arrived on the scene, more shots were fired. The original two officers were rescued from the house. The Taylor family members surrendered to police. Each of the 23 mourners in the Taylor home was taken into police custody. Eleven of them were subsequently arrested, and some of the men were brutally beaten while in police custody. The arrested family members were charged with felony robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder in connection with the incident. My investigative report into this incident was provided to the city council and Montgomery District Attorney Jimmy Evans. The report, along with the brilliant work of the Taylors' defense team, resulted in the dismissal of all charges against seven family members and all kidnapping and robbery charges against the other four. The attempted murder charges against the remaining four family members were reduced to simple misdemeanor assault charges. After they pleaded “no contest” to these charges and paid a small fine, the case was over. Shooting Bobby Joe Sales in the Back On April 9, 1983, Ralph A. Connor, a white Montgomery police officer, shot Bobby Joe Sales, a 23-year-old black male. Sales survived the shooting. Connor later claimed that he mistook Sales for a jail escapee. My investigation of the shooting revealed the following: (a) Sales had committed no crime in Connor’s presence; (b) Sales was unarmed at the time of the shooting; (c) Sales was not threatening Connor in any way; and (d) Sales was shot in the back. I reported to the city council that Connor was a danger to himself and the citizens of Montgomery. I knew that Connor, who left the MPD for another police department, had a propensity for violence that would one day lead to the death of an innocent person. My premonition about Connor was confirmed on October 15, 2013, in Eufaula, Alabama, when Connor and fellow officer John Phillips shot and killed Cameron Massey during a highly questionable traffic stop in the city. There are no “Watchdogs” Today It had been 35 years since I wrote my 1983 report on the Bobby Joe Sales shooting, which was my last city council report. All of my investigative reports were spread across the official minutes of Montgomery City Council meetings and became a part of those minutes. When I left office in November of 1983, I thought, perhaps naively so, that the black elected officials who came after me would pick up the baton and assume the “watchdog” role I had performed for holding law enforcement officers accountable for police violence. I thought these elected officials would continue to question, investigate, and prepare written reports on the police violence within their jurisdictions. I was wrong. As I reviewed news reports of police shootings around the nation since 1983, I have found nothing but the voice of silence. In the 35 years since I left public office, I have not found a single instance in which a black elected official has used the authority of his/her public office to (a) investigate the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers against African-Americans, women, and/or other citizens and (b) issue written reports to his/her government entity regarding these incidents. This is one of the reasons why police violence is out of control across America. All too often, no public official is policing the police. Too many of our black public officials have failed us miserably on this issue (and a host of other issues, as well). Our votes elect these officials, but they have become too afraid, too complacent, and too compromised to speak out against the epidemic of police violence that is sweeping through black America. In effect, our black elected officials have become useless “watchdogs” that will not bark, bite or write. We deserve so much better. This is why I am pleading with you to conduct a Hoover Council member investigation into the Bradford shooting. As a Council member, there is no evidence gathered and maintained by the Hoover Police Department that can be withheld from you about this police shooting. Mr. Bradford served our nation in the U.S. Army. He was shot in the face. His father is a recently retired Birmingham Police officer. This proud father and son team deserves nothing less than your full quest to find out what really happened to Mr. Bradford on Thanksgiving night. Mr. Murphy, you have the power and authority to make a real difference in the quest for justice in Mr. Bradford's case. Please use it. All it takes is courage and a determination to do the right thing. Sincerely, Donald V. Watkins PHOTO: Hoover City Council member Derrick M. Murphy. PHOTO: Emantic "E.J." Bradford, the innocent victim of a Thanksgiving night fatal police shooting.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on November 21, 2018 During the past two years, I have watched many of my Republican friends and business associates defend the words and actions of President Donald J. Trump. They have excused his perpetual propensity to lie with impunity about everything. They have tolerated his brand of white nationalism, chronic sexism, unyielding xenophobia, and strong addiction to America’s strongmen governments (i.e., the Russians, Saudis, North Koreans, etc.). They have looked pass his verbal abuse and demeaning conduct toward all women, including his wife. They knew he does not respect Congress or the federal judiciary. In fact, he actively seeks to de-legitimize these institutions. They know that Trump is lazy, ignorant, and petty. They know he will throw friends and foes alike under the bus to save his own hide. They also know he is a "buffoon" by anybody’s definition of the term. They know that Trump lacks character, class, a basic sense of decency as a human being, and any level of integrity. They also know that Trump has a messianic complex and can be mean-spirited when angered. They know he has condoned the murder of a U.S. resident/journalist and has authorized the use of deadly force against migrants of color at the Southern border of the U.S. Like Adolf Hitler (Nazi Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Kim Jung Un (North Korean), Vladimir Putin (Russia), and other well-known dictators in modern history, Trump has separated children from their parents as part of his “Make America Great Again” program. They know that Trump has no religious beliefs and that he is devoid of a conscience or moral compass. He worships money and idolizes dictators. He also breaks at least five of the Ten Commandments on a daily basis. Yet, many of my Republican friends embrace the Trump presidency without hesitation or reservation, which is their right as American citizens. Rather than acknowledging Trump many character flaws and behavioral problems, my Republican friends try to “normalize” his conduct. Often, they point a finger toward other public figures who may share one of the aggregate deficiencies found in Trump. Occasionally, they will claim that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton engaged in similar conduct. While Obama and Clinton had their own shortcomings as public officials, neither one of them reduced the Office of the President to a drama-filled Jerry Springer-like reality TV show. In contrast, Trump has debased the American presidency to a point where it will take decades of hard work to regain America's stature at home and abroad. In their most private moments, my Republican friends readily admit that Donald Trump is an "idiot." PHOTO: U.S. President Donald J. Trump.